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THIRTIETH 



|^nnilJersarg Jistourse, 



DELIVERED IN 



IPSAVICH, JUNE 29, 1856 



BY REV. DANIEL FITZ, PASTOR OF THE SOUTH CHURCH. 



BOSTON: 
WILLIAM WHITE, PRINTER 

NO. 4 SPRING LANE. 

1856. 



VW . Va" ' ^A*' • 






South Parish, Ipswich, Jult 30, 1866. 
Kev. Daniel Fitz: 

Dear Sir, — From various sources the undersigned have heard expressions of commendation of 
your thirtieth anniversary sermon, preached to your people on the Sabbath June 29th, with a 
request that it should be published. These expressions and desires entirely correspond with our 
own views and feelings, and we therefore respectfully request a copy for publication. 

With sentiments of deep respect and Christian love we remain affectionately yours, 

EBEX CALDWELL, \ 

CH.\RLES KLMBALL, 

RANDALL ANDREWS, ^Parish Committee. 

JOSEPH P. BKOWN, 

JOSEPH E. BOMER, I 



Ipswich, August 8, 1856. 
Gentlemen : 

I thank you very much for the kind manner in which you speak of my anniversary sermon. 
As my venerable predecessor preached a sixtieth anniversary discourse, which was printed, I am 
the more inclined to give a thirtieth to the press. It may serve as a memorial of the past, and it 
may be of some interest for the present, and for future years. 

With much esteem and affection, 

DANIEL FITZ. 
Capt. Eben Caldwell, 
Hon. Charles Kimball, 
Mr. Kandall Andrews, 
Mr. Joseph P. Brown, 
Joseph E. Bomer, m. d.. 

Parish Committee. 



^^U 

.v^^ 



DISCOURSE. 



ECCLESIASTES. 1:4. 

ONE GEXERATIOK PASSETH AWAY, AND ANOTHEK GENERATIOX COMETH. 

Of all the kindred, and tribes, and nations of men now 
on the earth, the same remark may be made : — " they are 
passing away." The youngest as well as the oldest are 
tending toward the same point — a resting-place in the 
grave. There is a constant progress on the part of all 
toward this point. Whether they are at home or abroad, 
in sickness or in health, distinguished or obscure, emi- 
nently good or notoriously wicked, they are alike telling 
off their hasty moments, acting their part on the stage 
of life, and hurrying toward the close of the scene. 
There is a limit set, a boundary fixed in the case of 
every individual, which in no instance can be passed. 
Some two hundred generations have passed away since 
man was created and placed on this earth. " How 
populous, how vital is the grave !" Who can estimate 
the numbers that have from generation to generation 
finished their earthly course and gone to mingle with the 



congregation of the dead ! It is a multitude which no 
man can number ! 

Periods of special interest and unusual solemnity seem 
to call out our feelings afresh, invite us to review the 
past^ to prize the present^ and to look forward with hope 
into the future. What a general sensation was produced 
on the close of the last half century ! How will some 
of the young now present be interested, who shall be 
spared to witness the termination of the nineteenth 
century ! To bid farewell to so short a period as a 
single year awakens no little emotion in thoughtful 
minds, calling forth desires to amend the past, and better 
fulfill the responsibilities of the future. 

We are called upon, my beloved hearers, this day in 
the good Providence of our God to review a period of 
thirty years. A generation has gone since the ordina- 
tion of the pastor of this church took place. Though so 
long a period has passed away since that interesting and 
solemn occasion, the scene this day comes up anew 
before his mind. The impressions of that day were too 
tender and too sacred to fade from the memory. It was 
Wednesday, June 28, 1826. The sun rose pleasantly 
on the day appointed for the interesting services, and 
reviving nature smiled on the passing scene. The coun- 
cil was composed of the venerable pastor, two of his sons, 
the other three pastors of ancient Ipswich, and the 
minister, who had been the spiritual guide of the candi- 
date during his earlier years. The parents, who had 
most kindly and most assiduously cared for a son while 



preparinc^ to take such responsibilities upon him, were 
witnesses to a scene calling forth their tender sensibil- 
ities, and awakening new gratitude toward a prayer-hear- 
ing and a covenant-keeping God ! 

The young pastor entered on his great and sacred 
work "in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling." 
There were two considerations in particular, which 
tended very much to afford relief and encouragement. 
One was the entire harmony of the people in the call 
they extended, and the other was the perfect cordiality 
and the exuberant kindness of the venerable colleague. 
In the sermon delivered at the ordination by Rev. Dr. 
Daniel Dana, there are a few sentences touching these 
two points, which produced a deep impression on the 
mind of the youthful pastor, and afforded him a support 
not to be forgotten. They were contained in a brief 
address to the pastor elect : — " You come to a people, 
who receive you with united affections and open arms 
— a people whose unfailing attachment to their minister 
has stood the test of sixty years. You come to an aged 
father in the ministry, who welcomes you with delight 
into the vineyard he has so long cultivated. His coun- 
sels, his solicitudes, his prayers, his affections, while life 
remains, will be yours." 

These remarks naturally carry our thoughts back to 
the time-honored house in which such solemnities were 
witnessed. It began to be erected in 17-17. It was 
dedicated in 17-18 and public services were held in it for 
the first time on the Sabbath, May 22d. It was occu- 



pied as a place of worship till the very last day of the 
year 1837, which was the Sabbath. The congregation 
with mingled feelings of joy and sorrow assembled in 
it on that day for the last time. It was no doubt the 
spiritual birthplace of some, who on that solemn day 
bade it a final farewell. 

A very considerable portion of those present never saw 
this ancient temple, and it may be that some even are 
not aAvare of its location. For their sakes, and for the 
sake of reviving in others feelings, which are at once 
" pleasant and mournful to the soul," it may be suitable 
to give it a passing remark. 

This house in which our fathers worshiped, and in 
which some of us have paid our solemn vows, stood 
nearly in front of this church, just beyond the street that 
passes so near it. It was built after the ancient manner, 
very plain in its construction, having no steeple and no 
entries. The pulpit, which is still to be seen in the 
basement of this church, and which is among the agree- 
able memorials of the past, was located on the north side 
of the house. There were three doors, one opposite the 
pulpit, one at the east end, and the other at the west 
end. The pews were square, with high backs. The 
seats were hung with hinges. They were lifted up when 
the congregation rose for devotional services, and they 
were let fall when they sat down. There were three 
galleries, entered at the south-east and the south-west 
corners of the house. The one in front of the pulpit was 



occupied by the choir, behind which there was a row of 
pews adjoining the wall. 

Though this house was so simple and plain in its 
construction, it was a delightful Sabbath home to many 
who worshiped in it. As the old men wept at the 
remembrance of the first temple, when the second w^as 
reared, so our aged men and women could not but drop 
some tears of sorrow as they passed from the ancient to 
the new house of worship. 

Though the former sanctuary was occupied ninety 
years, only three pastors ministered in it. Of those who 
officiated as pastors in this house, it is natural for me to 
speak. The first was Rev. John AValley. He was a 
man of respectable talents and of sincere piety. The 
records he made manifest a spirit imbued with the 
gospel of Christ, and a disposition to look to God for 
direction and for aid amid the responsible duties of the 
ministry. He was the pastor of this church seventeen 
years. During his ministry thirty-four were admitted to 
the church. 

The second pastor was Eev. Joseph Dana, D. D., who 
was ordained Xov. 7, 1765. Before he was twenty-one, 
he was licensed to preach the gospel, and began the 
great and sacred work to which he diligently and faith- 
fully devoted a protracted life. During his ministry, one 
hundred and twenty-one were received as members of the 
church. It was the desire of Dr. Dana that he might be 
useful as long as he should live. The God he devotedly 
served granted liim his desire. His mental faculties 



8 

were remarkably continued to him. He continued to 
read, to study, to write sermons till within a very short 
period before he ascended to his rest. The last Sabbath 
of his life he Avas present at three services in the sanc- 
tuary, and in the afternoon of that day he led the devo- 
tions of the people in the principal prayer. The suc- 
ceeding Friday, Nov. 16, 1827, having the day previous 
spoken his last words of tenderness and love to his 
children, and given his last affectionate counsels to his 
colleague, he peacefully fell asleep in Jesus, having been 
pastor of the church sixty-two years, and having preached 
to the same people nearly sixty-four years. 

What an amount of religious instruction did he give in 
that long period ! How many prayers did he offer up in 
that venerable house of worship! Few men in any age 
have understood the Bible as thoroughly as he, and few 
preachers have been as careful to draw all their instruc- 
tions, counsels and warnings directly from it. He was 
remarkable for weaving Scripture into all his discourses, 
and for substantiating all his arguments by divine 
authority. 

Having made these references to the ministry of my 
predecessors, you will expect me to give some account of 
my own, and of the merciful dealings of divine Provi- 
dence with us for the last thirty years. During this 
period, there have been two hundred and seventy-two 
admissions to the church. The greatest number received 
in any one year was fifty. These were admitted in 1850. 



In almost every year more or less have taken the vows of 
God upon them. 

The present number of the church is about two hun- 
dred. Only ten who were admitted before the present 
ministry, survive — two males and eight females. There 
have been three hundred baptisms ; seventy-one adults, 
and two hundred and twenty-nine infants. Two hun- 
dred and four couples have been joined in marriage. 
There have been four hundred and four deaths. Some 
four thousand sermons have been preached by the pastor 
and his substitutes. About nine thousand pastoral visits 
have been made. Some four thousand prayer-meetings, 
including the monthly and Sabbath school concerts, have 
been attended, and two hundred communion seasons 
have been observed. 

These statistics I PRorosE to make the basis of 

SOMEWHAT EXTENDED REMARKS. 

In the frst j;/rtre, I would ask your attention to the 
circumstances under which these two hundred and 
seventy-two admissions have been made to the church. 
Many of those who have confessed Christ before men, 
have directed their attention to their spiritual interests 
when there was no special excitement among the people 
on the subject of religion. Perhaps on some fiivored 
Sabbath, or in some season of bereavement, eternal 
realities have been solemnly presented to their minds, 
and the truth has been brought home to their con- 
sciences and their hearts with unwonted power. They 
have been led deeply to feel that, though others around 

2 



10 

them seemed to be devoting their best affections and 
their earnest efforts to this world, and of course to be 
slumbering over their spiritual concerns, it was high 
time for them to arouse and seek the salvation of their 
souls. 

Our seasons of specially marked religious interest, 
have been to a very great extent free from the mere 
excitement of the natural feelings. Stillness, solemnity, 
a sense of ingratitude and guilt, and a consciousness 
of entire dependence on him, who alone can save, have 
generally characterized the inquiry meeting. Those, 
who have indulged hopes of pardoning mercy, have not 
been encouraged to make a hasty profession of religion. 
It has been the desire of the pastor to follow up such 
individuals with instructions, cautions and encourage- 
ments as their respective cases might seem to require, 
giving them at the same time an opportunity to test 
their sincerity and the strength of their hopes by the 
quieting influence of time, and by an unavoidable 
exposure to the temptations of the world. While it 
is of great and indispensable importance that those, 
who have truly repented and sincerely believed, should, 
according to a positive divine requirement, confess 
Christ in an open and solemn manner, it is also very 
desirable that not any should be encouraged to profess 
faith in God while they do not afford a reasonable 
evidence that they are actual possessors of that faith. 
They, who have a name to live while they are dead, 
who have a standing in the church when their hearts 



11 

are not there, when their most earnest feelings and 
their most steady efforts go forth after worldly and 
perishable objects, are eminently in danger of losing 
their sonls. They do not apply to themselves the 
solemn warnings of the gospel, and they appropriate its 
promises and its consolations to their own case while 
the former actually belong to them and the latter have 
no reference to them. The deception they thus practice 
on themselves continues, it is to be feared, till probation 
is past and heaven is lost. 

In the second place, it appears from these statistics that 
there have been two hundred and seventy-two admissions 
to the church during the present ministry, and that these 
added to the fifty-four, who were members at the com- 
mencement of it, make three hundred and twenty-six, the 
whole number of members during thirty years. This fact 
suggests a consideration of solemn interest to all. It is 
this, that there is a great difference in the character, in the 
conversation and in the acts of those, who have taken the 
same solemn covenant, and who sit together at the table 
of the Lord. Are not some much more constant and 
faithful in the discharge of Christian duties and in the 
improvement of Christian privileges than others ? Does 
it not appear very probable that some are absent from 
the sanctuary, from the communion table even, and from 
the place of prayer, for reasons which would not keep 
away others 'I Is there not a great inequality in the 
contributions for benevolent objects^ Do not some 
make it a matter of conscience to give for the promotion 



12 

of the interests of the Redeemer's kingdom under the 
variety of forms in which those interests come before 
them, are they not observant of some regular system in 
the bestowment of their charities, do they not seek out 
objects, which they regard it as their duty and their 
privilege to advance 1 On the other hand, are there not 
those, Avho do not act from any settled principles and 
from any hearty good will in respect to the whole matter 
of Christian benevolence ? Do they not fail to take pains 
to help forward enterprises of this sort, which they can- 
not but be convinced have the approbation of heaven 1 
Do they not at times withhold their hand from giving 
when their covenant God plainly requires them to 
bestow their charities "? Is he, who sits over against the 
treasury when his disciples are casting in their con- 
tributions, satisfied with what they give 1 Will it appear 
when the final reckoning is made and every one shall 
])e rewarded according to his works, that thei/ did what 
they could ? Will there be no regrets at this point 
when he, who gave himself for sinners, shall publish to 
a waiting universe the gifts they have imparted and the 
sacrifices they have made for the advancement of his 
cause and for the salvation of a lost world ? 

This diversity in feeling and in action existing, it 
would be perfectly natural that there should be also an 
essential difference in the progress made in the divine 
life. The principle of grace when first planted in the 
human heart is feeble. It may be compared to leaven 
and to a grain of mustard-seed. It must be cultivated 



13 

by the means God has appointed. He will bless those 
means, if faithfully employed. They, who are chargeable 
with neglect in regard to them, will not grow in 
knowledge and in grace. Their attainments will be in 
proportion to their fidelity. There are those in the 
Christian church, who began their course in the right 
w^ay. They have been conscientious and scrupulous in 
every step of their progress. Their interests pertaining 
to another life were first to be sought, their duties 
toward God, the first to be performed. There are 
those also, who have professedly entered on the Christian 
life, but at the very outset, they were chargeable with 
deficiencies and neglects. Their standard was not 
sufficiently elevated, and of course, their aims would not 
be so. Thus they have " loitered in their way." Thus 
they have found less satisfaction in a religious course 
than they had anticipated, and thus they have made 
little if any progress for years in the divine life. 

During these thirty years, or a portion of them, has 
there not been something of this sort in our own belo^'ed 
church 1 Who doubts but that some, who are gone^ 
shone while they w^ere yet with us " as lights in the 
world," were faithful to their Saviour, faithful in public 
and private duties'? Some brought forth the mature 
fruits of piety. As they approached the final scene, they 
gained new victories over sin and over the world. Some, 
that were early called to their blessed home, made rapid 
advances in the way of holiness. Both these elder and 
younger persons had hope and peace in their last hours. 



14 

The savor of their names is yet sweet among us. " Being 
dead, they yet speak," " and in example live." On the 
other hand, have we not reason to fear that some of the 
professed friends of Christ have given occasion for the 
rebuking inquiry — " what do ye more than others V 
Have they not greatly neglected their duties and sadly 
misimproved their privileges 1 Have they not been 
conformed to this world"? Have they not sought its 
objects with too earnest desires 1 In this way, has not 
their communion with the Father and the Son been 
interrupted 1 Has not darkness come over their minds 
and insensibility to eternal things stolen upon their 
hearts ^ Have they not failed to manifest the benevolent 
spirit of the gospel and to live for duty and for that 
Saviour, who died for them 1 

Within the past generation a great change has come 
over us. Perhaps there has scarcely been a period since 
the age of the apostles when the professors of religion 
have been met by more powerful temjDtations. The com- 
parative quiet of former generations has been disturbed. 
The benevolent movements, which are so various, and 
which have so generally sprung up of late years, we can- 
not but regard as great blessings to the church at large. 
It is in accordance with the divine method that the peo- 
ple of God should be called to action, to sacrifices for the 
promotion of his kingdom and for the salvation of sin- 
ners. Not only his ministers, but his people must be 
laborers together with him. They are placed in his 
vineyard, and they must work there. An active and de- 



15 

voted church can alone be a successful and a useful 
church. An active and faithful man alone can enjoy 
true satisfaction in religious things, and bless his genera- 
tion. All those not truly devoted, not giving of their 
substance to promote objects heaven approves, cannot be 
like him, who gave himself for a lost and a guilty race. 
They who do nothing for Christ, make it manifest that 
they have done nothing for their own souls. We w^ould, 
therefore, encourage greater effort, greater activity 
among the followers of Christ. But we would guard 
them at the same time against the neglect of the more 
common and private duties of religion. Amid all the 
facilities for traveling and for communication with differ- 
ent and distant places, amid political agitations and the 
outbreakings of selfishness, passion, and cruelty, amid 
all the excitements in connection with reformatory meas- 
ures, and even benevolent operations, there are imminent 
dangers attending the followers of the Lamb. There is 
danger of their being satisfied with a noisy religion, with 
a condemnation of others, while there is a neglect of their 
own hearts, and an oversight of their own deficiencies. 
They are exposed to catch something of that worldly 
spirit, and join in that fearful rush for gain, which so 
remarkably prevail, and which threaten to " drown men 
in destruction and perdition." A double guard should be 
set where temptations and perils thicken around us. A 
greater degree of watchfulness and prayer, a more con- 
stant attention to reading the Scriptures, to religious 
meditation and private devotion should be observed by 



16 

those, who have so many unfriendly mfluences bearing 
upon them. 

We have alluded to our gatherings at the sanctuary. 
Nearly five years of Sabbaths have been enjoyed during 
the past generation. How suitable for us as a people to 
consider how they have been spent by us. 

Though during this period many Christians and others 
have been alarmed in view of the degeneracy of the age, 
and have put forth luiwonted efforts to redeem sacred 
time from being secularized by labor, and profaned by 
traveling, visiting, intemperance and gambling; yet 
there is reason to fear the most perilous consequences 
from this source. Profanation of the Sabbath and cor- 
ruption of morals go together. If men would harden 
their hearts, if they would become insensible to the reali- 
ties of the unseen world, if they would make sure the 
endless doom of the wicked, how directly would they 
effect their purpose by trampling down the Sabbath. It 
is a spirit most deeply imbued with worldliness and infi- 
delity, that would blot out the light of this sacred day. 

Have we, as a people, made any improvement in the 
observance of the Sabbath for the last thirty years ] Are 
professors of religion more watchful over their conversa- 
tion and more careful in regard to their conduct 1 It must 
be remembered that the wise and merciful intentions of 
this holy day are perverted, not only by directly and 
palpably profaning it, but by neglecting the appropriate 
services and the special duties, which immediately belong 
to it. One may not labor, he may not seek amusement, 



17 

he may not engage in worldly and vain conversation dur- 
ing consecrated time, and yet, he may be cluirgeable with 
a profanation of the day God has set apart for himself 
and for the benefit of man. A want of suitable feelinirs, 
absence from the sanctuary for no good reason, negle(-t of 
the sacred volume, prove that holy time is not kept. 
We may review the manner in which the Sabbaths for 
thirty years, or a less number of years, have been ob- 
served, we may often fail to remember -VAherc we Avere, 
and how we were employed as they passed ; but the Lord 
of the Sabbath has " a book of remembrance written." 
When that shall be opened, forgotten Sabbaths and mis- 
improved privileges will be brought to light in the pres- 
ence of assembled worlds ! There will be no mistake in 
those records, and there will be no wrong done to any 
who shall be judged out of that book. No excuses will 
be received. None will be given. Every mouth will be 
stopped. They, who shall have honored the day of sa- 
cred rest, who shall have been wise to improve its privi- 
leges and to perform its duties, will enter that upper 
temple — 

" Where congregations ne'er break up 
And Sabbaths have no end." 

Those, who shall not have " remembered the Sabbath 
day to keep it holy," will fail to gain the heavenly rest, 
and to take part in the joyful and endless praises of the 
New Jerusalem. 

3 



18 

In the third place, your attention is called to the im- 
portance of the religious training of children and the 
education of the young in the ways of piety by the con- 
sideration that so many have been dedicated to God in 
baptism, and so many in the morning of life have pro- 
fessed their faith in Christ. 

Every minister of the gospel should take special inter- 
est in the youth and children of his charge. The exam- 
ple of Christ in this respect furnishes lessons of instruc- 
tion How interested was he in behalf of those, who 
were in the morning of life ! How condescending and 
how faithful was he to the young man, who inquired 
what he must do to inherit eternal life ! How tenderly 
did he regard little children ! How affectionately did he 
speak of them, and how ready was he to bless them ! 
How touching the prediction of the prophet concerning 
him ; — " He shall feed his flock like a shepherd, he 
shall gather the lambs with his arm, carry them in his 
bosom." His direction to Peter, given under such tender 
circumstances, was ; — " Feed my lambs," take special care 
of those who are young in years and in Christian experi- 
ence. 

It is suitable for the pastor, for parents, and others, to 
inquire how they have discharged their duties toward 
their ofl'spring, toward the children of the covenant, and 
toward all the young over whom they may have influ- 
ence ? Where is the watchfulness, the decision and the 
discipline of a former period 1 Has there not been a sad 
letting down of parental authority and control? Are 



19 

not children left more to themselves, are they not per- 
mitted to choose their own ways, to follow the bent of 
their own inclinations more than they were, even thirty 
years ago "? Is not salutary restraint so much removed 
that they suffer injuries in the formation of their charac- 
ters and their habits, which are seldom, if ever, repaired ] 
There was not that violation of the Sabbath, that profa- 
nation of the name of God, that disrespect to superiors at 
the commencement of the present ministry that we so 
painfully witness now. In no previous period in the 
history of our country were there so many neglected 
youth and children, so many of whom better things were 
fondly hoped, given up to folly, to vice and degradation. 
Temptations fitted to ensnare the young are all abroad. 
Wherever they go they meet them. Like whirlpools, 
they draw in uncounted numbers and send them quick 
to ruin ! AVlio can adequately speak, or even conceive, 
of the multitude of blighted parental hopes ^ Who can 
tell of the tears shed in secret places over those, who 
hear not the instruction of a father and regard not the 
law of a mother "? AVill not the beloved youth of this 
people who are to act so important a part during the 
generation to come, hear the counsel of him, this day, 
who watches for their souls as one that must give 
account, and who feels a tender interest in their present 
and their future well-being X Be not carried away with 
youthful vanities. Consider the precious season of life 
you are now enjoying. There are " two ways and two 
ends," which lie before you. You may possess a character 



20 

which will fit you for usefulness and happiness on earth, 
and for unspeakable felicities in a coming world. Give 
your early affections to him, who so kindly invites your 
love. Be not deceived by the allurements of earth. 
Rise above those influences, and separate yourselves from 
those associations, which tend to draw you away from 
an honorable and useful position in society. Duly prize 
the value of character. Let truth alone fall from your 
lips. Let worthy actions alone be done by your hands. 
Suitably estimate the worth of a good conscience and an 
approving God. 

I have spoken of the number of this people who have 
died during thirty years. This I shall make, in the last 
place, the subject of a few remarks. Seldom have we so 
many in the house of God as have gone during this 
period to the house appointed for all the living. What 
changes have taken place while these years have been 
passing away ! The congregation worshiping here in 
the former temple, and the congregation assembled in 
this house to-day, how different ! One hundred and 
ninety that were heads of families at my settlement have 
departed this life, while fifty-seven only remain. There 
are now two hundred and thirteen heads of families, that 
were not such thirty years ago. The majority of the 
present congregation did not compose a part of the wor- 
shiping assembly at the commencement of the present 
ministry. They never saw my venerable predecessor, 
and they hear only of the fathers and mothers in Israel, 
who then aided in bearing onward the ark of the Lord. 



21 

Several of those who took an active and deep interest in 
the erection of this comely and substantial house of 
worship, have taken up their abode in the repository of 
the dead. Thus " one generation passeth away and 
another generation cometh." What solemn and salu- 
tary lessons are to be learned by us, my beloved hearers, 
by the review of one generation ! The scenes of bereave- 
ment, the funeral processions, the parting tears, the 
agonized hearts, how do they come up afresh and awaken 
the tenderest recollections of dear departed ones ! AVe 
love to remember them on a day like this, though our 
hearts may be filled with sorrow! We would drop a 
kind tear at the recollection of their virtues, and of what 
they were to us. " Mourning for the worthy dead," a 
continued, tender interest in them, " is but a suitable 
tribute to their li\dng Avorth." 

We dwell on these past painful scenes, and they are 
certainties to us. The events of the present are also 
certainties ; but we look into the future, and it is all 
unkno-WTLi. The times and the seasons are hidden from 
us. Most affecting changes we are sure will take place ; 
but we know not the time and the circumstances that 
will attend them. AVhen another generation shall have 
passed away, what a change in this congregation ! These 
little children, who shall be spared in life, will be among 
the chief actors in society, and the sustainers of religious 
institutions. Our youth, that shall survive, will be 
passing the meridian of life, and the premonitions of 
coming infirmities and hastening years will attend them. 



22 

These men in middle life, so actively engaged, placed 
under such responsibilities, so important in their families 
and in society, will either be bending under the weight 
of years, or mingling their dust with the clods of the 
valley. The aged men and the aged women — monu- 
ments of divine and sparing goodness this day, and yet 
blessed with the ability to be useful in the church and 
in the world — will all be gone ; not a solitary individual 
will be left to tell of the past, or to hope for the future. 
The pastor, who amid all his deficiencies and errors, is 
permitted still to stand on his watch-tower, will then 
have finished his work, and have been gathered to his 
fathers. He will then have met many of his people in 
another world, and there it will be known how he shall 
have fulfilled his ministry, and hoAV they shall have 
improved it ! 

Oh, the scenes that are so shortly to open to us all ! 
How soon the intervening years will pass and bring 
them to our view ! Are we prepared to meet them ] 
Are you, my respected aged friends, ready for the hasten- 
ing hour — are you prepared to enter on the rest that 
remains to the people of God ! Of parents and of those 
who are in the meridian of life, let me affectionately and 
earnestly inquire if your great work is done? Thu'ty 
years will quickly pass, and they will bear your spirits to 
another world. Oh, arise and seek for durable riches 
and righteousness. Lay up your treasures where change 
and death cannot come ! 

Beloved youth, our hopes and our fears gather around 



23 

you. The character, for life and for eternity, is more 
generally formed in early years. Do just right now in 
the morning of your days, begin a course that shall end 
right when probation is past, and bright and glorious 
prospects for this world and the world to come await 
you! But if any of you essentially err in youth, the 
error may never be corrected. It may hinder your re- 
spectability and your usefulness on earth, and it may 
bar the gates of heaven against you. 

Neither on this occasion, nor on any other, would I 
forget the little children. We hope they will be spared 
long to be blessings to their parents and to the world. 
Remember, my dear children, the God who made you, 
and the Saviour who died to redeem you. Our God is a 
great God, but he is not so great that he will refuse to 
hear the prayer of the smallest child. Call on his name, 
and he will bless you and make you his own dear 
children. 

To you, beloved people of my charge, I give my heart- 
felt thanks for all your kindness and forbearance, for 
your sympathy in severe illness, and in deep sorrows, 
and I commend you all to God and to the word of his 
grace ! 



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